Wis. Lawmakers Cry Foul As Officials Seek To Lower G.E.D. Score

Setting a standard too high may be a mistake, but trying to bring it
back down can really get you in trouble, Wisconsin education officials
have learned.

Several state legislators have risen up in opposition to
Superintendent John T. Benson's effort to lower the state's passing
score on a high-school equivalency test. Mr. Benson has maintained that
he is simply correcting a technical error in seeking to lower the
threshold score, which he says had been set too high after 1987.

Lowering the passing score is "the just and equitable thing to do,"
Mr. Benson said last month in a prepared statement in which he also
pledged to award General Educational Development diplomas to those who
had failed the test as a result of the error.

Some state legislators, however, have accused the superintendent of
trying to "dumb down" the G.E.D. test and have argued that the state's
real problem is its failure to prepare its students.

"We ought to, in my opinion, simply set our Wisconsin standard high
and then help adults achieve the standard," said Timothy L. Weeden, a
Republican state senator who co-chairs the legislature's joint
committee for reviewing administrative rules.

The lawmakers also assert that Mr. Benson overstepped his authority
last month in trying to lower the passing score without legislative
approval. Mr. Benson disputes that, but is preparing a proposal for
legislative review.

The General Educational Development Testing Service, a division of
the nonprofit American Council on Education, has set the national
minimum passing score on the G.E.D. at 225 out of 400. That threshold
is designed to insure that only two-thirds of the nation's graduating
seniors would pass the test, and thus relieve G.E.D. recipients of some
of the stigma associated with their failure to complete high
school.

A Norming Question

The organization allows states to set their own minimums, but
recommends that they conduct norming studies to find the score only
two-thirds of seniors would obtain.

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction conducted a norming
study in 1987 that suggested a minimum score of 250. But the $12,000
study did not count the scores of Milwaukee students, traditionally
among the state's lowest.

In 1987, the state's last year using a minimum passing score of 225,
a total of 8,644 Wisconsin residents received G.E.D. credentials. In
1988, just 2,741 earned them.

"It really undermined the Wisconsin G.E.D. program," said Jean H.
Lowe, director of the G.E.D. Testing Service, which has supported Mr.
Benson's proposal to set the minimum at 230.

Advocates for minorities and the poor also were angered by the
impact of the new standard.

"It has been quite a hardship," said Jan M. Nicolaisen, a former
head of the governmental-relations committee of the Wisconsin
Association for Adult and Continuing Education, who said many people
who failed to obtain a G.E.D. were denied jobs, wage increases, and
access to student loans.

Many who favor lowering the minimum say the 250 cutoff gives an
unfair advantage to people who obtained G.E.D. credentials in other
states. Employers tend to look only at the G.E.D. credential, not at
the score behind it, they contend.

But advocates of the higher minimum have argued that Wisconsin
G.E.D. holders have a competitive edge.

"We have to stop making it easier for people when 'easier' does not
offer them a secure future," said Margaret A. Farrow, a Republican
state senator, contending that employers have been "recognizing the
value and quality of a Wisconsin G.E.D."

Senator Weeden noted that the number of Wisconsin residents meeting
the higher threshold has climbed steadily since 1988, and more than
4,700 earned G.E.D. credentials last year.

"Obviously," he said, "the message is getting out there that folks
are going to have to put in some time studying for this test."

Supporters of the higher standard have asserted that the state
should focus its efforts on boosting student performance. Accordingly,
Scott McCallum, the state's lieutenant governor, has introduced
legislation calling for rigorous, achievement-based graduation
standards for all students.

Web Only

Notice: We recently upgraded our comments. (Learn more here.) If you are logged in as a subscriber or registered user and already have a Display Name on edweek.org, you can post comments. If you do not already have a Display Name, please create one here.

Ground Rules for Posting
We encourage lively debate, but please be respectful of others. Profanity and personal attacks are prohibited. By commenting, you are agreeing to abide by our user agreement.
All comments are public.